Joliet "City of Stone" EarthCache
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At one time Joliet, IL was known as the "City of Stone" before becoming the "City of Steel". The reason for this name was because of the large amount of Limestone that was available for mining. Limestone is used for many things including an element of glass but in the case of Joliet, limestone was used mainly for building. Limestone is great material for building because it is easy to cut and can hold up to the elements over time. Limestone was even used to build the pyramids in Egypt. The one downfall to limestone for building is because of its weight it is expensive to build tall buildings with it. The cots of lifting and putting it into place is not feasible in today’s society because of alternative materials.
In the mid-1800's Joliet was a major limestone mining hub. The limestone was used to build buildings, bridges, locks, and aqueducts. Once the I&M Canal was complete Joliet was also shipping limestone to other regions for building.
There are still several building in Joliet, Lockport, Chicago, and elsewhere that are still standing and operational that were built with the limestone from Joliet. To get credit for this visit you must make an estimated guess as to the height of this remaining bluff from the mining days of Joliet and email that number to me. Post a picture of yourself in front of a building that was built with limestone from Joliet and let us know what building it is. There are several buildings within walking distance of this site that were built with this limestone or feel free to take a picture in front of a building elsewhere.
Have fun and happy hunting.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ohvyqvat rknzcyrf: Bar znqr snzbhf sebz n zbivr va gur 80f gura ntnva ba GI. Nabgure rknzcyr vf n Ybpxcbeg ohvyqvat “Unccl Ehyre” ohvyqvat. Gurfr ner whfg gjb rknzcyrf.